Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

Story TOpics

Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on women in healthcare, Wednesday, March 22, 2017, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. ... more >

One of the nation’s top environmental groups on Wednesday sent boxes of “endangered species condoms” to six top officials at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Center for Biological Diversity’s holiday mailing is meant to draw attention to human population growth, which the group says is hurting wildlife and ecosystems across the country.

“These stocking stuffers will remind Trump officials that reproductive healthcare is a human right,” said Sarah Baillie, the center’s endangered species condoms coordinator. “Family planning and comprehensive sex education are also essential to combating human population growth. Giving every person access to these tools makes the planet better for everyone, including the wildlife who share it with us.”

The condoms were sent to Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Teresa Manning, deputy assistant secretary for population affairs; and four other top-level officials at the department.

Each of the condoms includes a specific message related to a creature threatened by human expansion, such as: “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.”

“Everyone should have access to reproductive healthcare, contraception and science-based sex education,” Ms. Baillie said. “But these top-ranking Trump appointees have a disturbing record of fighting these essential programs. Their extremist views have no place in public policy.”

The Center also noted that the planet’s human population grows by about 227,000 people per day, contributing to habitat loss and other detrimental effects for wildlife.